Aquatic weed control

Listen to this radio story (MP3 download) or read below.

Radio interview source: Jack Whetstone, Extension aquatic specialist, Clemson University

One of the ways we control weeds in our pond is by using grass carp. They're big, ugly fish, but they do the job. Carp are just one weed control method. Digging the pond edges farther down will slow weed growth because aquatic vegetation and algae usually take root in shallow water less than two-feet deep.

Aquatic specialist Jack Whetstone at Clemson University says you should also have protective buffer strips along the shoreline.

"It stops the nitrogen and phosphorous from migrating from up on the hill down into the pond," Whetstone says. "And the buffer strip can remove a lot of the nutrients that can cause problems in your pond. We have some problems with people cutting their grass directly down to the edge of the pond and in some instances dumping the clippings down into the pond."

And all that's going to do is act as weed fertilizer in the long run, because clippings add nitrogen and phosphorous too.